After all these years I have yet to read Stephen King’s IT. I have read a few of his books but not this one yet, not even after seeing the movies. So I can’t offer any incite as to the faithfulness of the movies to the book. Same goes for this series. I didn’t even know what this series was going to cover. I assumed that it would be a retelling of the story in a series format, but I learned just before watching the series that it was actually going to be a sort of prequel, covering parts of the book that were not included in the movies. I am almost always hesitant when it comes to prequels, especially ones that come out after the sequels. While they might sometimes end up as a solid movie on their own - such as Rogue One - other times they can fumble really hard - like Black Widow. Nevertheless I didn’t want to miss out on this, considering that Andy Muschietti, the director of the IT movies, and Bills Skarsgard, who portrayed Pennywise so well, were returning for the show.

I am so glad that I watched this show. It was so good. Usually I structure my reviews so that I don’t immediately praise something, but I cannot help it here. I liked it so much that I would say it tops Stranger Things S5 Pt. 1, for me personally. Let’s get straight to it. This version of Pennywise will be considered a modern horror icon. Bill Skarsgard absolutely kills it. I do not know why but I had sort of forgotten about Pennywise when it comes to horror villains. Even though he was scary in the movies and Bill did a fantastic job, the memory of the movies just didn’t stick around. I am happy that this show reminded me of how good Bill really is in this role. The mannerisms, his way of moving, his way of talking, his facial movements, all together bring to life this character in the most unsettling and horrifying way. Credit must also be given to the makeup artists and prosthetic makers of course, but Bill adds that touch that makes him irreplicable as Pennywise.